Tuesday, November 8, 2011

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is a yearly feast on October 31 ,celebrated in the western countries .According to some historian,it is a pagan festival and originated from the Celtic Samhain.
Halloween's symbol is jack-o'lantern.

People usually dress  in the costumes consisting of supernatural and scary figures such as monsters,ghosts,witches and devils
If you wanna see more Halloween's costumes,click on the following video...

There are several games played at Halloween's parties.One of them is apple bobbing or may be called "dooking" in Scotland.This game is commonly played .The other one is divination

the young woman looking into a mirror in a darkened room hopes to catch a glimpse of the face of her future husband.


Halloween's food is commonly candy apple(also known as toffee).They are given to children at one time.

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Sunday, November 6, 2011

EID-UL'ADHA

Eid-ul'adha is one of the two feasts which are celebrated by Muslims. The word "Eid" means feast in Arabic.It may be named by different names by different Islamic countries.For example,in Turkish "Kurban bayramı",in Indian and Urdu "Id-ul'zuha" ...etc.
Muslims celebrate the Eid-ul'adha to remember prophet Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God.This event is told by the Holy Qur'an like:
The Qur'an says, " He [Abraham] said; 'O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you, so look, what do you think? '" In reply, Ishmael said, " O my father! Do what you have been commanded. Allah willing, you shall find me of the steadfast. "Then, they were commanded to submit themselves to Allah's Will. The Qur'an says, " When they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice). " As Abraham and Ishmael submitted to Allah's Will and began to carry out His commandment, Allah sent angels with glad tidings. The Qur'an says, " We called out to him, `O Abraham! Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!' Thus indeed We reward those who do right. This was obviously a trial. And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice. And We left (blessing) for him among generations (to come) in Later times. Peace and salutation to Abraham! Thus indeed do We reward those who do right. For he was one of Our believing servants. "




Just as both Abraham and his son Ishmael succeeded in the hard trial, Allah redeemed Ishmael's life with a white ram that had sound eyes and horns which Abraham found tied to a tree near Thabir Mount. So he sacrificed it at Mina.
After that event, this act has been accepted as a  ritual of Hajj in Islam, especially the rite of sacrifice.
Eid-ul'adha is an important time for families and friends to visit each other.
Eid-ul'adha also has many social and commercial benefits all over the world.


Source:http://hajj.al-islam.com/Loader.aspx?pageid=936&TOCID=168&BookID=693&PID=149